Sermon Tone Analysis
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Getting Attention
Respond with TRUE or FALSE to the following statements:
I am never stressed by the circumstances of life.
I have never ceased to trust God in daily life.
I never question why bad people win and good people don’t.
Knowing and Understanding
Turn to and read Psalm chapter 73.
Thriving Light Principle: Focus on God to understand the circumstances of earthly life.
I. Introduction (Psalm 73:1-3a)
Proposition: God is good!
(73:1)
Asaph, the writer of Psalm 73, had solved his problem of envy by the time he composed these verses.
This psalm recalls his conflict, the cause of it, and the cure for it.
Verse 1 states some of the presuppositions with which he began his analysis, namely, that God had been good to Israel and is good to everyone who possesses a clean heart.
The history of the nation substantiated this assumption.
(And our own testimony should substantiate that truth even now!)
Asaph knew of the protection of God in the wilderness of Sinai, the provision of manna, the destruction of Jericho, and military victories in the face of overwhelming odds.
He also realized that God promptly punished unclean people.
The rebellion of the Children of Israel against Moses (Num.
21:1-9), the sin of Achan (Josh.
7), and the times of the judges of Israel were well-known cases of such punishment.
No one can dispute Asaph's first proposition.
Note: First Chronicles 22:13 and Isaiah 3:10-26 provide examples of God's promise and warning.
Problem: The psalmist was envious!
(73:2-3a)
In verse 2, Asaph left the proposition regarding God's goodness to Israel and revealed his own envious spirit over the prosperity of the wicked.
In effect, he had questioned the goodness and sovereignty of God in the matter.
He explained his own condition with a double figure of speech.
In the first one he wrote, "My feet were almost gone."
The word "gone" means "to bow" or "to bend under one."
The psalmist drew a word picture of himself staggering under his own thinking.
In the second figure of speech, he wrote, "My steps had well nigh slipped."
The term "slipped" means "poured out" or "not kept within the true bounds."
This expression indicates that he had left the beaten pathway and was on treacherous ground.
These expressions picture Asaph staggering under a load of questions.
His understanding was misguided or corrupted because of what he had observed in the life of the wicked.
When someone asked Socrates what would most vex good men, he replied,
"The prosperity of the bad."
Psalm 73:3 seems to indicate that Socrates was right.
The psalmist stated his spiritual condition: he envied the arrogant people who lived around him.
Most people have a distinct feeling that God should reward the godly and should punish the wicked by withholding good or by bringing trouble down upon their heads.
That approach seems reasonable, but it is not a rule to be forced on God (Exod.
33:19; Lam 3:22a; Rom.
9:15).
Unless a believer understands this fact, seeing the wicked thrive may stir in him a questioning spirit, envy or indignation, bitterness toward God, viewing God as being unfair.
While Asaph carefully observed people around him and evaluated his environment, his eyes were temporarily turned from the will of God and eternal things.
Without those influences in his thinking, envy arose, driving him to stagger and deviate from his beaten path as a righteous man.
II.
The Causes of Envy (Psalm 73:3b-12)
Asaph identified three distinct causes for his envy.
Together they sound like ironclad reasons to forget God and live for self.
Prosperity of the wicked.
(73:3b-5)
In a prosperous city like Charlotte we must be watchful of this.
It is very easy to become envious of the foolish.
Asaph first observed that the wicked have "no bands" in their death.
The Hebrew word for "bands" means "that which is knotted or tied" and may well imply that no heavy burden is attached to the wicked in death.
The idea probably has to do with torturing diseases or a slow, painful death that may come by injury or disease.
Asaph observed that in death the ungodly do not seem to suffer in proportion to their sinful lives-they live in pleasure and die with ease.
He thought that they deserved to be dragged to death like captives by overwhelming frailties.
Instead, "Their strength is firm."
They have vigor and strength until the day of their death.
As a result of their prosperous condition, they are lifted up by great pride.
Pride of the wicked.
(73:6-9)
In this segment of the psalm, Asaph observed six reactions of the wicked because of their prosperity.
First, they wear pride about their neck like a pearl necklace.
They view pride as an ornament, not a character defect.
The ungodly are proud of being proud.
Asaph understood that God hates the sin of pride (Prov.
6:16, 17; 15:25; 16:5; 21:4), and that understanding filled him with envy when he saw that the wicked prospered in spite of their pride.
The prosperous wicked flaunted their violence the way an arrogant person flaunts an expensive necklace or watch.
Second, Asaph noted that "violence covereth them as a garment" (v. 6).
They flaunted violence and demonstrated it openly as they would a special article of clothing.
Because of their prosperity they had no reason to hide their harshness, aggression, and violence.
Third, he observed that their eyes stood out with fatness (v. 7).
In some cases the growth of fatty tissue on the face seems to push the eyes out and give a bold expression to a person's countenance.
This overbearing appearance characterized the prosperous, wicked men of Asaph's day.
The fourth reaction involved the attitude of the wicked toward their possessions.
They really believed they had "more than heart could wish" (v. 7).
The fifth and sixth reactions of the wicked to their seeming prosperity were reflected in their speech.
Verses 8 and 9 declare that they bragged about evil and that in their arrogance and pride, they threatened oppression.
They scoffed at righteousness.
They denied the place and power of God in Heaven and endeavored to dominate the earth with their line of reasoning.
Persecution of the righteous.
(73:10-12)
The conclusion Asaph expressed in verse 10 is difficult to understand.
Some Bible students think he referred to people who kept company with the wicked because of the advantages they enjoyed by doing so.
However, others believe that the verse refers to the persecuted people of God.
The latter conclusion seems more likely.
It is the climax of the psalmist's reason for envying the wicked who prosper.
They persecuted God's people without hindrance.
During the persecution of the righteous, they asked questions that belittled God: "How doth God know?" and "Is there knowledge in the most High?"
They did not believe God was aware of what was happening here on earth.
Asaph's observations of the success and prosperity of the ungodly in the world caused him to question the validity of his faith and walk with the Lord.
He expressed his confusion in the next four verses.
III.
The Confusion Caused by Envy (Psalm 73:13-16)
Confusion about living.
(73:13-14)
In his confusion Asaph concluded that both his internal purification (involving the cleansing of his heart) and his external purity (involving the washing of his hands) were fruitless and foolish.
He reasoned that since he had been plagued and chastened continuously, he would have been far better off to live like the ungodly, to enjoy their pleasure, passion, and pride.
God had seemingly not rewarded His faithful servant by granting him immunity from evil but had let sufferings multiply.
Confusion about talking.
(73:15)
Thoughts were pounding through Asaph's mind.
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